Complications Part V
by LuvWhatUDo
Summary: John and Kem make a decision that puts them directly in the middle of the Congolese Civil War. Will that decision cost one or both of them their lives?
1. Preface

_Preface_

This will be the final part of the story Complications. There will be either 3 or 4 more chapters and I will add them to Part V.

When I add those chapters, I will update the this section so that you have more details and background on the Congo.

As always, thank for your kind reviews and Emails and I hope that you enjoy the next 3 chapters as much as you enjoyed the ones in Part IV.


	2. Chapter 18: Fear Transferred

Chapter 18: Fear Transferred

_Tuesday – Day 19 of the Rebel Advance_

John moaned reflexively as the heat washed over him. Large drops of liquid ran down his face and he wiped his hands quickly over it. The day was already becoming hot and it wasn't even 11:00am yet.

It had taken Abe and him thirty minutes to get to the city center in James's Datsun, and with all the traffic that they had encountered, they were thankful that they had decided to leave early.

When they had finally arrived, they had contemplated going directly to the warehouse. However it had still been twenty minutes before their appointed meeting time with Kingugwa, and they weren't certain if he would be there yet. Instead, they had decided to have some refreshment and relax.

John emerged from the lavatory where, in an effort to cool down, he had splashed his face with water. Now, as he stepped out onto the sidewalk, he looked around until he saw a familiar face; Abe was about three restaurant stands away from him, apparently finishing up a cup of coffee. John glanced at his watch and hurried over to him.

"Ready to go in?" he asked pertly as he slapped his hands together as an indication of his own readiness.

Abe nodded and said, "Sure, it should be just about time." He pushed his cup away from him and joined John on the curbside. As they stepped off the sidewalk and waited for the traffic to clear some so that they could cross the street, they noticed a commotion off to their left.

"What's going on there?" John asked.

"I don't know," Abe replied curiously and he started drifting towards the gathering so that he could ask questions. Once he got close enough to understand what was going on, he rushed back to John and said, "It appears that a woman has collapsed in the street."

"What?" John asked bewilderedly, but his physician senses were already beginning to take over and he rushed towards the crowd.

"Docteur, Docteur!" John called out in French so that the crowd would understand and make room for him to pass. As people began to move back a little, he was able to see that the woman Abe had mentioned was on the ground with her chest and head folded over her knees. He didn't see any open wounds, but she could have been bleeding from her chest or abdomen.

"Madame, what's wrong?" John asked in French as he knelt down beside her. He didn't know if the woman could speak English, and he looked around to see if Abe was close enough yet to translate words that were beyond his vocabulary skills.

The woman didn't respond at first, but a few moments later she lifted her upper body off her knees and John could now see her face. He rocked back on his heels.

It was Kem.

"Kem?" he asked disbelievingly. His mind was trying to understand what she was doing here. She hadn't yet responded to his voice and she was staring at him blankly. It seemed to him as if she didn't even recognize him, and he began to wonder if she was suffering from a head injury. John didn't see any marks or bruises on the front of her head, but he knew that the injury could easily be to the back of it.

"Kem," he repeated urgently as he clasped her slender shoulders gently but firmly between his hands. He forced himself to resist the temptation to shake her, and instead brought one of his hands away from her shoulders and up to the back of her head where he gingerly searched for any sign of a bump or blood.

Kem couldn't take her eyes off of his face. When she had first looked up, she was certain that she had gone crazy, and that her mind had manufactured an image of him healthy and safe as part of her madness.

She had barely heard him when he called her name the first time, but when he called it the second time and put his hands on her she knew that, even if this was too good to be true, she had to say something.

"John," she said softly, tentatively as she reached out a hand to touch the side of his face.

"Yeah," he replied firmly and he nodded his head slowly, hoping that that simple motion might help him get through to her.

She hesitated a moment longer, then she pulled herself closer to him until her head was against his chest. Even though he felt real beneath her hands, she just couldn't be certain of her own mind. _Oh my God,_ she pleaded silently, _please don't let him be an illusion. Please don't let me be here in the middle of the street talking to no one and crying only to myself. Please…_

John held her with a pained expression on his face. Despite the temperature outside, the hand that she had initially put against his face had been as cold as ice. Now her hands were wrapped so tightly around his back that he could feel her short nails dig through his shirt and into his skin as she tightly clung to him. _What in the hell is going on here,_ he wondered, but he didn't ask the question aloud because he could tell that she was in shock.

Her unexpected appearance and condition had almost made him forget about the meeting, however he quickly remembered that Kingugwa was waiting on them.

"Abe," he called out, "go and tell Kingugwa…"

"No!" Kem screamed desperately. She looked up, grabbed Abe's wrist, and muttered a phrase in a native language that John couldn't understand. After she finished, John thought that Abe had paled slightly.

When she was convinced that Abe believed her, she relaxed back against John, and whispered into his ear in English, "It's a trap. It's a trap."

John looked at her askance, and he wondered if her fears from this morning weren't influencing her judgment now. Kem could see the confusion on his face but she didn't care because _now, _thank God,she would actually have the opportunity to explain.

After a moment, she asked, "What time is it?" She wasn't feeling all that calm yet, however she knew that she still had to be frightened for their safety.

"Five after eleven," John responded.

"We need to go," she said softly but decisively. She started to push herself up, and as she did, she encouraged John to follow her movement. His hand brushed her left pocket and he felt a hard object. He used his right hand to trace its outline and he knew that it was her father's handgun. John stared hard at her for an answer, but she simply shook her head and brought his hand up to her mouth where she kissed it.

He grimaced in response to the anguish that he saw on her face and he decided not to insist on a verbal answer to his unspoken question. Instead, he handed his bag to Abe, and attempted to pick her up so that he could carry her. However, when she resisted his efforts, he again decided not to press the issue because, on second thought, he felt that walking might help her improve her circulation and raise her body temperature.

"Is the car nearby?" she asked.

"It's around the corner and down one of the side streets," Abe answered.

The crowd that had gathered around them earlier had mostly dispersed, however there were still a few curious onlookers. Abe, John, and Kem politely but insistently pushed their way though the them, stepped onto the sidewalk, and quickly made their way to James's dented, white 1975 Datsun truck.

As soon as they reached it, they separated and Abe scooted into the driver's seat, while John and Kem walked around to the passenger's side. Kem slid in first, followed by John, and as soon as he slammed the door he took the black bag from Abe and tossed it on the floor by his feet so that Abe could drive unencumbered.

Abe and John exchanged glances as they wondered what they should do next. .Even though John knew that Kem was in no condition to stay there longer, he was still concerned about the deal and getting transportation for the camp.

"What evidence do you have that it's a trap?" John asked her quietly.

"The police chief is waiting for you," she answered simply.

Suddenly she sat up straight, and she hoped that the movement might also galvanize them into action. "It's time to go," she said urgently. "We need to get out of here before they come out and start looking."

"The only way for us to get back to the club or your apartment is for us to navigate the roundabout and go back past the warehouse," Abe said.

"I know," Kem said resignedly. "But with all this traffic it will take at least twenty minutes to do that. With any luck, they will have left the building before we get there."

John tensed his jaw, shook his head, and shrugged as Abe looked in his direction again. Neither of them understood what was going on in her mind, but it was clear that she believed the danger was real. John nodded at Abe and a moment after that, Abe started the engine and they proceeded to enter the traffic jam.

Twenty-five minutes later they found themselves still in the city center, however now they were on the same side of the street as the warehouse. When they were about a hundred feet away from the building, its door unexpectedly opened and Kingugwa stepped out. Kem immediately tensed and slid down in her seat. She jabbed and lightly slapped John until he reluctantly followed suit. As Abe watched John and Kem's actions, he understood that this was probably the smuggler.

The trio watched Kingugwa through the windows of the cars in front of them. At first, he stood outside the warehouse with his hands covering his eyes as he tried to peer across the street. A few minutes later, he sprinted across the street where he began to search through the myriad stands and stores.

John was certain that Kingugwa was looking for him, which was not odd in the least, since he was now over thirty minutes late for their meeting. John still wasn't entirely convinced that Kem's fright was based on fact, and he had been thinking about how he was going to make this up to the smuggler so that he wouldn't think that he had been double-crossed.

Their car moved a foot more before Kingugwa crossed the street again and entered the warehouse. He had been shaking his head; clearly upset at his not having been able to find John.

John bit his lip pensively, as he watched the man reenter the building. A few minutes later, John saw something that he hadn't expected to see. The door reopened, and five men in light blue shirts and dark pants emerged.

John glanced over at Kem with a shocked look on his face and he scooted down further in his seat until he could just barely see over the dashboard. He didn't know what the Police Chief looked like, but he knew police uniforms when he saw them. The men lingered for a moment as they laughed and shook their heads, however they soon moved off in the opposite direction of the Datsun.

A few minutes after that, another unexpected face emerged from the building and this time it _was_ one that John recognized. Azel Mkese stepped out, followed closely by Kingugwa. John and Kem immediately slid down off the seat until they were kneeling on the truck's narrow floor.

Although Abe had never met either of those men, John and Kem's obvious fear was enough to make him very nervous, and he had to fight the temptation to join them. Abe inhaled deeply, and as he exhaled he bit back his fear because he knew that a driverless vehicle in the middle of traffic would look very suspicious; he just had to hope that those men would move on before their truck passed by them.

Abe noticed that Kingugwa and the other man appeared to be arguing. In fact, they stood in place for several minutes before the smuggler walked off in the same direction that the police officers had.

Traffic was moving faster now, and Abe was almost side-by-side with the other man who was scowling as he intensely scanned the street for something or someone. Suddenly the man's eyes locked onto Abe's face.

Abe gave him a look that he hoped came off as being nonchalant and disinterested, and then he turned to look at the traffic in front of him. A lifetime seemed to pass, but the man eventually went back into the warehouse and closed the door.

Abe was certain that it was a full five minutes before he remembered to breathe again, and that it was fifteen minutes after that before he felt comfortable enough to tell John and Kem to get up from their cramped conditions on the floor of the truck.

By that time, they only a few miles from James's club and from what they hoped would be safety.


	3. Chapter 19: A Promise Vowed

Chapter 19: A Promise Vowed

John was staring worriedly at Kem as he sat across from her at the table. Even though he had wanted to take her home as soon as they had arrived at Karibu, she had insisted on staying. It seemed to him that her psyche needed her to explain how she had known that he and Abe had been in danger. However as she related her story about what had happened after John left the apartment that morning, her voice sounded to him as if she were still in a daze.

James was also sitting with them at the table, and he shook his head disbelievingly as Kem spoke. Her story was making him feel terribly guilty about what could have happened to John and Abe, and he didn't know how yet, but he made a silent vow to make this up to them.

Once she finished her story there was a brief period of silence, before John asked anxiously, "Do you think that they'll come here to arrest us?" He fully understood that they had had a narrow escape earlier, and he was desperate to know if their luck was going to be tested again and soon.

Abe and James exchanged a brief nervous glance, before James responded. "No, I don't think so," he said slowly in his African accent. "If they had been _that_ determined to arrest you, they probably would have closed off the city center and searched the vehicles in the area." He paused for a second as he shook his head contemplatively. "They probably wanted to catch you in the act of _actually_ paying for the trucks via the black market," he concluded.

John nodded slowly and let out a shaky sigh of relief. After a few seconds, he looked at Kem and gave her one of his trademark boyish grins in an effort to comfort and reassure her. She looked at him, but didn't return the smile. There was another period of uncomfortable silence, then Abe decided to speak.

"What are we going to do about tomorrow's plans to move the camp?" he asked awkwardly. He wasn't certain if anything more should be attempted, but he thought that the subject needed to be mentioned.

"I guess we go to Kem's Plan C and move the camp by foot," John proposed unexpectedly and defiantly as he raked his fingers quickly through his hair. "After all of this effort, I don't see why we should quit now."

"I agree," Kem said softly. "We promised the camp that we would help and I think that we should try to keep that promise," and she even managed a small smile when she saw John's pleased reaction to her statement. She also seemed to draw strength from his resilience and her voice started to regain its confidence.

"However," she said, "we'll need to alter the triage plan. Of the eight hundred plus people that we were going to evacuate by truck only a small subset of those can actually be expected to make the journey on foot. The journey will simply be too strenuous on their health, and it could likely make them sicker if not kill them."

"So what is the alternative?" James asked.

"We could move them – the high risk refugees – to the clinic," John offered. He was certain that Angelique would object strenuously, however he was equally certain that she wasn't as hardhearted she sometimes pretended to be and that she would relent and permit the evacuees to stay there.

However, even Abe had his doubts about John's proposal. "Yes, we could do that, but where will we put them when they get there?" Abe objected gently. "There are no empty beds, and we already have patients sleeping on the floor and in the halls."

"Well, John said with a contemplative sigh, "these are people who are already living in tents. Maybe they can bring the tents that they're currently using and set them up outside the clinic?"

Abe still disagreed. "No, I don't think that will be possible. Many of these people are living with relatives who are healthy. Those people will need to take the tents with them when we begin the relocation process," and Abe furrowed his brow as he tried to think of other possibilities.

"Don't worry about the tents," James said suddenly and confidently. "I can find a way to get some."

Everyone sat forward in their seats and stared at him with alarm, but their reactions only caused him to chuckle lightly. "Don't worry, I'm not talking about smugglers this time," he replied to their unspoken concern. "I know some honest people who might be able to give something to help."

Abe, John, and Kem breathed a collective sigh of relief and relaxed back into their chairs. Kem didn't know whom James had in mind, and she wasn't quite certain if she _really wanted_ to know; besides there was another urgent issue for them to consider.

"We have to determine," she began, "who stays at the clinic and how we'll get them there."

The men nodded their heads in agreement, and the four friends discussed inclusion criteria and numbers until a definitive plan had been reached. People too ill to walk, pregnant women in their third trimester, leg amputees, and orphans aged five and under would be evacuated to the clinic.

Now the only remaining task was to determine how to transport the bedridden individuals and the amputees. As of three days ago, that group numbered one hundred and five, and since the clinic had only one working jeep at the moment, John estimated that transporting that group would end up delaying their schedule by as much as two days.

Once again, however, James came through by promising that in addition to the tents, he would also find extra vehicles. The others were a bit skeptical of James's optimism, however there weren't really any other options available to them.

"So how many people do we have now who might have difficult time keeping up with the pace of the majority of evacuees?" John asked.

"Umm," Kem replied, "If I remembered the numbers correctly then we should have approximately seventy people who could make the journey on foot, but who will have to travel at a much slower pace."

"And why is that?" John asked.

"Well," she started and her voice sounded a little sad, "these are orphaned children between the ages of six and twelve. Since they don't have any parents and relatives to look out for them or carry them if they get tired, then they may fall behind and could end up abandoned on the journey."

"Can we take them in the trucks to the new encampment?" John asked as he turned to look at James for his opinion.

James inhaled sharply and shook his head unhappily. "The ten miles between the camp and the clinic is possible. However, sixty miles in both directions to the new camp and back is a lot to ask," he said honestly. "Plus we would probably have to make several trips for a group that size. Even if the people I have in mind wanted to do it, their vehicles may not be able to withstand the stress of that type of trip."

"You know," Kem said hopefully, "these children can still make it on foot. They just need a group of adults who can escort them. And since most of the camp's adults will be preoccupied with their own families and belongings, maybe we could…"

"split up," John said tersely as he finished her sentence. "Won't a slow moving group have a greater chance of having the army or the rebels catching up to them?"

"Yes," she admitted reluctantly, "the idea has its drawbacks. However, the road East forks off from the road North about seven miles outside of the city. So if we keep a decent pace, then we should be off of the road where the fighting is and out of danger within a day," she concluded.

"And exactly who will escort the children?" Abe asked. Kem opened her mouth to answer him, but John cut her off.

"No," he said sharply because he knew that Kem was going to volunteer herself. Although her reasoning about the fighting and the safety of the group made sense, he was still worried that something might go wrong. "I don't want to discuss this now. Let's wait until we get back to the clinic and then we can discuss it with the rest of the team."

"I agree," said Abe. "In fact, maybe now would be a good time to go there and share the changes with them."

"Then we're agreed," said John. "But, I want to go home first and get refreshed and I want Kem…"

"No!" James said a bit more loudly than he had intended and everyone turned their heads to look at him. He calmed his voice and continued to speak, "I don't think that either of you should go back to your apartment."

"Why not?" John asked confused.

"There's no guarantee that the police have not changed their minds," James explained. "If they have decided that they now want to arrest you, it will be very easy for them to do if you are at home where there aren't many witnesses around."

John closed his eyes in pain and annoyance, but before he could speak, he heard Kem's voice.

"I need to go home," Kem objected softly. "My identification…my passport, everything is in my bag. I would have taken it this morning, but it was the furthest thing from my mind at the time." She was silent for a second and then she remembered, "Oh God, plus our cell phones are there…everything."

"You can't go back," James insisted sternly. "In a few days it may be safer," James admitted. "Maybe you can return after the camp is moved and things have quieted down, but for now you need to stay someplace safe; someplace that is crowded."

"The clinic," Abe offered.

John looked at him for a long second, but then he nodded in agreement reluctantly because he knew that it meant that he and Kem would have to spend an uncomfortable night on the clinic's hard floor. John inhaled deeply as he tried to deal with the stressful situation. A part of him still couldn't believe everything that had happened, however he knew that he had to accept it if he and Kem were going to get of this alive.

Abe looked sympathetically at John. He wished that he could do more to help him, but he knew that there really wasn't much that one could say in a situation like this. He gave John a few seconds, then he pushed his chair back from the table, stood up, and said, "I think that it's time to go." He looked at James. "If you need any help," he said, "let me know." The he shook James's hand, left the club, and headed in the direction of the clinic.

Kem stood up and joined John. "We'll see you tomorrow James," she said softly, then she and John followed Abe.

It was early afternoon, and heat of the day had grown almost unbearable. However, the bright, hot, piercing sunshine from the morning had given way to clouds that seemed to herald a downpour sometime in the near future.

As they reached the clinic, Abe leapt up the stairs and bounded through its entrance on his way to tell Angelique, Charles, and Uwe about what had transpired. However before John could follow him, Kem tugged urgently on John's wrist and led him down a footpath near the clinic to a large, ancient Moabi tree with plenty of shade.

She knelt down on the soft brown earth beneath the tree's wide canopy and John followed suit. He wasn't quite sure why she had brought them there, but he thought that entering the crowded clinic might be a bit much for her right now. Besides, he certainly didn't mind sitting next to her and enjoying the peace and quiet of the remainder of the day.

"I want you to leave," she said without warning.

"Ah…what?" he asked with genuine confusion. He thought that she had wanted him to come with her, but maybe he had misinterpreted her gesture.

"I…want…you…to…leave," she repeated slowly but more forcefully.

"Wh…?"

"I want you to go back to Chicago," she demanded somberly. "I want you to go home to your father. Or you can open up our house and you can go to your grandmother's estate and retrieve the boxes that I sent there last week. Do anything, but you need to…"

"No," he said sternly and a scowl of disbelief appeared on his face.

"Please," she begged.

"No!" he said forcefully and his eyes and voice had taken on a cold, steely determination to disregard her request.

"You once told me that you would do anything for me," she said as her eyes began to fill with tears. "Were you lying?"

"What?" he asked with barely controlled anger. Then he squeezed his eyes shut in pain because he was hurt by both her accusation and the fact that she was clearly pushing him away…again.

"I'm sure that you can borrow a truck from James, go to Kinshasa, and just don't look back. There is no reason for you to stay here," she stressed and she hoped that he could understand the validity of her position.

John stared at her hurt and angered. Then he abruptly stood up, and stormed off towards the clinic without another word or glance back in her direction.

Kem's heart fell as he walked away. She closed her eyes and the let the tears spill out from under her thick lashes as she relaxed against the tree and tried to steady her emotions.

She wanted him…needed him to be safe no matter what the cost to herself or to their future. Suddenly, she felt a painful grip on her arm. A grip so intense that it caused her to gasp and look up. It was John.

"Why?" he practically screamed at her through clenched teeth. "Why are you always trying to drive me away? Because I can't take this any more!"

It pained her to see him like this, but she knew that it was for the best. So she bit back her tears and replied simply, "You're going to die if you stay here."

"And you won't?" he asked angrily.

"This is my country and my people…" she began.

"Oh…do not give me that crap!" he shouted. "I have spent close to two years living in this country trying to help these people so DON'T tell me that I am any less emotionally invested in them than you are."

Despite her best efforts, she couldn't hold back her tears any longer. "I want little more in this world than for you to be by my side!" she cried out. "However, what I want even more than that is for you to be safe," she finished tenderly.

He started shaking his head vigorously from side-to-side as he again refused to obey her request. She took his hand and held it until he looked her in the eyes.

"You have a responsibility to your father," she said, "…to your family to stay safe. Please, go home."

He looked away from her so that he could calm himself, then he knelt down to her level. He put his hands on her shoulders and he gave her a gentle shake as he said each word firmly, "Not without you."

She tried to pull away from him, but he resisted her efforts and instead pulled her roughly into his arms. "Not without you," he whispered tenderly against her ear.

She knew that it was pointless for her to continue to her argument and that she would have to accept the fact that he wasn't going to leave, so she collapsed against his chest and said a silent prayer. _Please God, no matter what it takes. Please let me keep this man safe._


	4. Chapter 20: As The Lights Grow Dim

Chapter 20: As The Lights Grow Dim

_Day 20 of the Rebel Advance_

John stood on the clinic's stoop as he surveyed his surroundings. Last night's rain storm had left the area soaked and muddy. Although that would make it easier to sink tent poles, it also meant that the camp's evacuees would have to walk and sleep on mud-covered ground during the first night of their journey. _Yet another sign of an inauspicious start to our plans_, he thought bitterly to himself.

He closed his eyes and rolled his shoulders back and forward in an effort to release the tension that had been building ever since yesterday's almost disastrous outcome. As he relaxed his body, he forced his mind to focus on more positive thoughts.

It was around 8:30am, and the day had not yet become hot. In fact, it seemed as if day was promising to remain quite comfortable. Not only was the sun not as hot as it had been yesterday, but there was a refreshingly cool breeze was blowing in from the East at a pleasant speed.

Kem and the others were still in back finalizing their plans for the camp's move, and as he thought about her he remarked that she seemed quite recovered from yesterday's ordeal. She hadn't even reiterated her desire for him to return to Chicago without her.

Yesterday evening, after she had went to sleep, he had risen and written a lengthy document with explicit directions. Then he had sought out Charles and Abe for their signatures. He knew that the document, his final Will and Testament, would have to be witnessed in order for it to be considered legally binding. If something were to go wrong over the next few days, he didn't want his father to suffer or be inconvenienced by having his family's vast fortune enter the Illinois state court system in probate.

John had called the FedEx office around 8:00am this morning to confirm that they were still picking up packages, and they had replied that a driver would stop by the clinic sometime before Noon to collect the envelope.

_Beep...Beep...Beep_.

John was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of three succinct honks. As he looked up he saw an amazing sight consisting of what appeared to be no less than fifteen small pickup trucks of various colors, models, years, and conditions. In the lead, was a white beat-up Datsun driven by James Obono who was smiling widely from behind its wheel.

With a wide smile of his own stretched across his face, John abandoned melancholy thoughts about his Will, and he jumped off the stoop to welcome his friend with a firm handshake and a warm hug.

The commotion caused by the appearance of this mini convoy brought people from inside the clinic running out to see the spectacle, and among them were Kem, Charles, Uwe, Abe, and Angelique.

Abe saw them and called out proudly, "There are twenty trucks here including my own! People from my Church…some are from a Mosque," he explained. "Then there are friends of theirs from other Churches and even some of their family members. They all wanted to help as best they could. We figured that we could put two maybe even three people in the flat beds of these trucks. That means that we should be able to complete moving your triage group by late afternoon," he stated happily. And it was easy to see that he was elated by the fact that so many locals had answered his call for generosity.

Angelique and the others finally made it over to where John and James were standing. She was so happy and astonished by James's accomplishment that she hugged him tightly and gifted him with one of her rare beaming smiles. He blushed shyly before gently pulling away from her.

"Oh," he said suddenly as he remembered something, and he walked over to the second and third trucks in the convoy. "In the back of these trucks are extra tents. Unfortunately, we could only find eleven. However, we found five very wide and very long couverture," and he used his hands to try to describe the word's meaning.

"Tarps?" John offered.

"Yes, yes tarps," Abe answered enthusiastically. "Five tarps and several poles." He shrugged his shoulders and said, "Hopefully, this will be enough."

"It's amazing," Angelique gushed, but then her face resumed its typical serious expression. "Unfortunately, we have one more issue. Part of the plan devised yesterday calls for orphaned children five and under to remain here at the clinic. I can understand that it would be difficult and extremely slow for you to take these children sixty miles on foot," she said sympathetically. "However, there are apparently fifty-nine such children, and I simply don't have the resources to care for so many children who are that young," and even though her statement sounded harsh, everyone could see that she was clearly anguished by her predicament.

"Can't we use some of the other patients' relatives to look after the children?" John proposed.

"And who will supervise them to make sure that they are doing a good job?" she countered. "Who will be around to supervise the supervisors at all hours of the day to make sure that they are not taking advantage of their charges?"

James scratched his bare chin thoughtfully for a second, then an idea appeared to come to him. "If you can spare a driver and a truck," he began, "then I think that I might be able to find a solution."

John arched an eyebrow as he wondered what miracle James thought that he could pull off this time. "Yeah that should be fine. Do you think that you will need any help?"

"No, no, no" Abe answered heartily. "Just keep the children at the camp. I think they'll be easier to find that way, and it will keep from adding to the chaos that is about to erupt here," he stated with a wide grin and Angelique smiled at his small joke.

"So what do we do now?" Charles asked.

"Well, we told the camp's leaders that we would be there around 9:00am," Kem said energetically. James's accomplishment was also more than she had expected, and she felt invigorated by his success. "We just finished finalizing our plans," she said. "Abe is going to stay here at the clinic with Angelique so that she will still have at least one experienced person around. In the meantime, Charles, Uwe, John, and I will go to the camp to help oversee the evacuation. Any questions?" and she looked at James and John to see if they agreed. When they nodded their heads, she said enthusiastically, "Then let's get started."

Charles and John removed the tents, tarps, and poles from the lead trucks and placed them beside the clinic so that Abe and some volunteers could begin setting them up. Then Charles called out directions to the drivers in French, after which he and Uwe hopped into the back of the James's truck, while Kem and John jumped into the back of the second one.

Normally, the refugee camp would have been able to see the dust trail caused by so many vehicles from over a mile away. However, since last night's rain had made the road muddy, the camp actually heard the vehicles approach before they saw them.

Children waved excitedly at them, and a group of five adults started walking in the direction of the convoy. When the trucks stopped and parked, John jumped out of the back of the truck he had been riding in and helped Kem down.

"Bon jour," she said over his shoulder. She apparently recognized the group of adults that had come out to greet them. When she saw the curiosity on John's face she explained, "These are the camp's leaders."

John smiled, introduced himself, and shook hands with each man. Charles and Uwe soon made their way over to them, and as they conversed with the leaders in French, John walked off to take a closer look at the camp.

The camp was much more organized for the evacuation than he would have thought possible. The numerous tents that had defined the camp's existence had been taken down and the families appeared to have been organized into small groups that were laid out in five long rows that extended back beyond what his eyes could comfortable count. Each group sat around a collection of belongings; pots, tents, blankets, and other items that were stacked in tidy piles.

It turned out that the five leaders were actually representative of villages from five different cultural areas of the Kivu region. Each leader had skillfully used their influence and respect to organize the large camp, including the new arrivals, into a manageable, movable entity.

John smiled in admiration at their unexpected efficiency, then walked back over to where Charles, Kem and Uwe were still conversing with the leaders. He found that the conversation was proceeding in rapid French sentences. Even though he could only understand a few words of what was being said, he had no difficulty comprehending the consternation and deepening frowns on the faces of the leaders. At first they shook their heads in what appeared to be doubt and concern, however by the end of the conversation they nodded in resigned agreement and walked away.

"What did they say?" John asked.

"Well," Charles said tiredly, "they're troubled by the loss of the big transport trucks and the change of plans. The new plans will mean that families are going to be split up and separated by sixty miles." He glanced down at his feet before continuing. "However, they're extremely grateful for our persistence, and they've agreed to the changes. In fact, they're going to announce the news soon."

A few minutes later, it appeared that the leaders were ready to address the camp's citizens. John watched mesmerized as each leader surrounded themselves by a group of six teenage-looking children. After listening to instructions given by the leaders, the children separated and stood at specific points in each of the five rows.

One leader stood up, presumably the one with the loudest voice John thought, and he began to address the camp in short statements in French. After each statement, he paused. This was apparently a cue for the first child in the row to begin speaking. Once that child had finished, the next child would speak and so on, in what appeared to be some type of relay.

"What are they doing?" John asked.

"It's impossible for the people in the back to hear what is being said in the front," Kem explained. "So the children are acting as runners. It's their job to convey the message all the way to the back of the camp."

John nodded appreciatively; once again, he was impressed by the camp's organization. He was also impressed by the attentiveness of its more than seven thousand citizens. During the entire announcement, there were only two outbursts. One occurred when the situation with the convoy trucks was explained. A woman in the front had called out loudly that she didn't understand why the government was not doing more to help them, but the leader who was speaking had responded by stating that such concerns were of no real help now. There was a low murmur as the people discussed what had been said, but in the end the camp's residents seemed to resign themselves to that explanation.

The second outburst occurred when it was announced that women with three months or less to go in their pregnancy would be separated from their husbands and other children, and that ill, bed-ridden people would be separated from their relatives as well and taken to the clinic. On hearing this, a louder murmur swept through the camp. There were tears and cries of anguish however, in the end, the camp's citizens soon accepted that the decision was probably for the best. Thirty minutes after the leader had started speaking, he concluded his speech and the camp readied itself for the move.

The leaders walked back over to where John, Kem, Charles, Uwe and James' volunteers had been patiently waiting.

"Are you ready my friend?" one of them asked Uwe in French.

Uwe nodded because he knew that it was time to leave. He and Charles had driven the leaders to the new campsite a few days ago so that they could inspect it personally and give it their approval. Now that Uwe was familiar with its location, it had been decided that he would accompany the main group of evacuees. Since the group contained over seven thousand people, everyone thought that at least one doctor should be available in case anything went wrong on the sixty mile journey. In addition, all of the leaders would accompany him in order to help oversee such substantial numbers of people. In the meantime, Kem, Charles and John would take charge of the more than seventy orphans and escort them to the camp at a slower pace.

Uwe looked at Kem and gave her a quick hug. Then he turned from her so that he could shake hands with Charles and John. Since Uwe's group would be moving much faster than they would, he knew that it would be days before he would see any of them again. As he walked away with four of the leaders, Uwe turned back towards Charles, John, and Kem, and he gave them one last smile.

The leader who had addressed the camp remained behind for now. He introduced himself in French as Penda. He said something else in French that John couldn't quite make out, and then he proceeded to lead them and the convoy of trucks towards the middle of the right outer line. As Penda pointed with his hands, John finally understood what the man had been saying. This was the location where the triaged group that would go to the clinic had been organized.

John knew what had to happen next. He sprung into action and started directing people in broken, but comprehensible, French to help load the trucks with the bed-ridden evacuees. While he did that, Kem organized the pregnant women into a group and told them that she would help them walk to the clinic.

It was a ten mile journey, and that was a lot of walking for any pregnant woman, and she knew from personal experience that it would be especially difficult on those who only had a few weeks left in their term. However, Kem hoped that all of the women would be able to accomplish it successfully; especially if they took the journey very slowly and rested ever half mile or so.

Even though her group started out before the trucks did, it didn't take long before the trucks were passing them over and over again as they traveled between the camp and the clinic and then back again.

The truck that John was traveling in passed Kem and her group of mothers all day. Each time his truck went by, he blew her a kiss and waved wildly out the window at her causing her to shake her head and laugh. The third time he did it, the driver spoke up and said in French, "A beautiful woman."

John smiled. He was happy with himself because he could understand the phrase in French, and because of the man's observation. "Merci," he said as a charming, boyish grin appeared on his face. John had thought that would be the end of driver's comments, but the man didn't stop there.

He said something else in French and, this time, John only understood a portion of it. He looked confusedly at the man. The driver smiled, laughed, and then he said in heavily accented English, "A beautiful woman can make a man do many foolish things."

John laughed deeply and shook his head. He was certain that his father would agree.

Dusk was starting to fall as Kem finally approached the clinic with her group, and she was very thankful that the weather had remained extremely pleasant. If it had been hotter they might not have all made it. Even with the pleasant weather, it had taken them nine hours to travel the distance.

Along the way, she had understood the sacrifice that many of James's friends were making. Although there were only ten miles between the clinic and the camp, the constant travel and the loads that they were carrying, had taken its toll on several of the vehicles' engines. Some of the trucks had broken down completely, leaving the drivers to push them off to the side of the road and to hitch a ride with one of the other trucks. Kem shook her head and she prayed that the drivers' families would not be adversely affected by the loss of their transportation.

Still, even with the breakdowns and unanticipated loss of vehicles, the trucks had stopped passing them by late afternoon; and Kem knew that that phase of the evacuation was complete.

Now that she had reached the clinic, she looked around at its changed surroundings. It was starting to resemble a mini-camp itself with its collection of tents and tarps and evacuees. Kem asked a few questions, led the women to a spot that had been reserved for her group, and then set out to find John. She wasn't certain if he was at the clinic or back at the camp, but she hoped that the former was true because she could really use seeing his smile just about now.

As she climbed the stairs of the clinic's stoop to check for him inside, John suddenly emerged with a wet cloth in his hand and he immediately placed it on her forehead.

"Oh," she sighed tiredly, but gratefully. "That feels good." After a long moment, she asked, "How did it go with you?"

"Well, I was done by 4:30, and I almost went back to be with you," he said as he kissed the top of her nose, "but I decided to stick around here and help Angelique get organized."

She smiled and squeezed his arm lovingly. "Good," she said, "I'm sure she needed the help." Kem started to permit herself to relax under the cool cloth, however an uninvited thought entered her weary mind. "We have one more thing to do tonight, don't we?

"Sorry, but yeah," he said empathetically because he knew that she was exhausted. "We have to find out what we're going to do with the youngest orphans," and as he said this last part he started pushing her tired body towards a truck that was waiting for them. "Charles and James are already at the camp and their waiting on us."

John and Kem reached the camp about ten minutes later. Kem hadn't seen the area since that morning, and she was struck by how empty and desolate it looked. However, now that the wide swath of land was practically barren, it wasn't difficult for them to spot the children, James, Charles, and a few strangers and their vehicles. Once John and Kem joined them, they were given an update on the plan.

"I found the solution," James responded and he seemed tired but happy. "These people," and he pointed to the strangers around him, "are going to take the children into their homes. They'll feed them and try to keep them safe until other arrangements can be made."

John shook his head in disbelief and then smiled. James was nothing short of a miracle worker. However, as John considered the commitment that these people were about to make, he began to wonder about something and he pulled James off to the side and closer to him.

"Can you ask them something for me in French?" he asked in a low tone.

"Sure," James answered even though he was a bit puzzled by John's actions.

"Ask them if food and supplies will be tight?"

James looked down at his feet briefly because he already knew the answer to that question, but he asked it anyway so that he could appease his friend's worry. The group laughed lightly in response to the question.

However, after the laughter died down, one man came forward and James translated his reply. "He said that it will be very tight, of course, and they already have families. However, these are children in great need and they feel that they should help."

"So," James continued, "they have recalled a local proverb. 'A small bird may fend for food in the husks whilst its heart is in the grain.' They have decided that they will make the necessary sacrifices so that they can be that grain."

John looked at group of strangers again, and he saw that even though they were afraid of the hardship that this decision might mean in the days to come, they were still smiling and they were still willing to do what they could for these young children.

John turned to James and said, "The bag is in Angelique's safe keeping." At first the statement caught James off guard, but a second later he understood exactly to what John was referring.

James began to object, but John cut off his protests and said, "Use what's in it to help these people."

James contemplated him carefully for a moment before giving him a heartfelt brotherly hug. "I'll only use a small amount of the money," James promised, "and I'll bring the rest with me when I see you at the new camp in six days."

"Don't worry about…"

"I'll bring the rest," James insisted firmly in his deep voice.

John smiled. In six days, James would meet Uwe, Charles, Kem and him at the new campsite, so that he could collect them and drive them back to Kisangani.

John and James walked over to the youngest of the orphans so that they could start getting them situated with their new guardians. While they worked on that task, Charles and Kem went about the process of preparing a camp fire, and cooking so that the remaining seventy-three children could be fed and then put to bed.

Since it was already dark, it made sense for Charles, Kem, and John to spend the night with the children at the old campsite, instead of returning to the clinic. The next day, they would start out at first light.

Forty minutes later, James and his friends were ready to leave. Farewells and best wishes were exchanged, then Kem watched as the tail lights of the last truck dimmed until they were no longer visible in the thick, heavy darkness of the Kisanganian night.

_This was it_, she thought and she resigned herself to two sobering facts that would be true for the next few days. From that moment on, she, John, and Charles would be on their own. And from that moment on, they would be able to rely only on each other in order to get these children and themselves to safety.


End file.
